SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

The $160,000,000 Gorilla

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) is recommending a surcharge of $75 on its members’ 2011 dues (as set out here). The money is to be spent exclusively on political activities during the 2011 provincial election.

OECTA has 34,000 members. At $75 each, this adds up to a cool two and a half million dollars. And don’t forget OECTA’s meat and potatoes revenue of $950 times 34,000 members = well over $32 million. Furthermore, you can bet the province’s other teachers’ unions are similarly engaged and, with a collective membership of about 126,000, they have real clout. Estimating: 160,000 union members times $1,000 dues - $160,000,000. Every year. No wonder the OSSTF executives travel the province in a private jet.

In addition to their media activities and contributions to candidate’s campaigns, the teachers’ unions mobilize thousands of their members to knock on doors, stuff envelopes, answer phones, and all the other grassroots work that helps people get elected.

The bottom line is: the Ontario teachers’ unions have the ability to influence which party gets elected - and then what the government does once elected. Naturally, the teachers’ unions press for measures that benefit their members - even when those measures (like protection for bad teachers or reduced instructional time) are bad for kids. 

Should the teachers’ unions be this powerful?